Cabinet construction



Jan" 28, 1941.

E. E. NOFZINGER CABINET CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 7, 19159 bolting, or thelike.

Patented lien. 28, 1941 PATENT OFFICE CABINET CONSTRUCTION Earl E.Nofzinger, Greenville, Mich, assignor to Gibson Electric RefrigeratorCorporation, a corporation of Michigan Application December 7, 1939,Serial No. 308,057

5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in cabinet construction and moreespecially heat insulated cabinets made of sheet metal and adapted foruse as refrigerators, stoves and the like.

Such cabinets are frequently made of panels, or sections joined togetherto form a unit. A customary way of joining the panels is to bend theadjacent edges inwardly and fasten them together in any suitable manneras by welding, One of the features of my invention is the provision ofmeans for concealing the crevice between two panels thus joined.

Besides being useful in concealing a crevice or crack where panels arejoined, my invention has a wider application for use in connection withconcealing or covering any kind of crack or crevice; and, in fact, notonly conceals the crack or crevice but also adds to the appearance ofthe object by forming a raised line which may be of any suitable colorand thus take the place of decoration. In fact, if the decorativefeature alone is desired, there may be no crack or crevice at all; butthe invention may be employed solely for the purpose of adding adecorative mark or line. This method of lining or marking articles willbe found to be much more durable and also cheaper than painting. Such aline can be put on much more straightly by the practice of my inventionthan by painting.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending applicationSerial No. 277,549 filed June 5, 1939.

In general, my invention contemplates the use of a spiral spring or wirestretched over the crack. The wire or spring may be bare or enclosedwithin extruded plastic material or cement. In the event the inventionis used for decoration only, there may be provided a groove in the sheetmetal in which the spring or wire, coated or uncoated, is laid.

In those forms of devices embodying the features of my invention, shownin the accompanying drawing- Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of thetop of a cabinet, for example a refrigerator cabinet or the like, Fig. 2is a view taken as indicated by the line 2 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a detailview showing the spring taken as indicated by line 3 of Fig. 4, Fig. 4is a view taken as indicated by line iof Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is a view of amodification taken as indicated by the line 5 of Fig. 6, Fig. 6 is aview taken as indicated by the line B of Fig. 5, Fig. 7 is a view ofanother modification taken as indicated by the line I of Fig. 8, Fig. 8is a view taken as indicated by the line 8 of Fig. 7, Fig. 9

"' is a View of another modification taken by the line 9 of Fig. 10,Fig. 10 is a view taken as indicated by the line H] of Fig. 9, and Fig.11 is a vertical sectional View of another modified form.

As shown in the drawing, l0 and II indicate the upper portions ofpreformed metallic side panels, one for each of the side walls. Itindicates a top sheet. The adjacent edges of the sheets are. providedwith. inwardly turned flanges it and i respectively which may befastened together by welding or any other suitable means. "all indicatesa coiled wire spring slightly under tension lying over the crevice atthe top where the top sheet i6 is joined to the side sheets or panelsIll and M. It will be seen that when the inwardly turned edges on theadjacent sheets are joined together there will be left a small creviceon the outside. The spring ll] slightly under tension is put over thiscrevice and may be left bare as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, or filled withany suitable substance like plastic material or cement as indicated by Hin Figs. 5 and 6. This makes a neat appearing protective covering forthe crevice. The spring may be held in position in any suitable manner.For example, as here shown, the ends of the spring are straightened andhooked over the flanges of the metal on the inside as indicated by 12.

Ihave found it preferable to make the material H extruded plasticmaterial which hardens either before or after the spring is applied. Anydecorative colorin may be given to the material.

Instead of using a spring, a stranded wire (plastic, braided, orotherwise formed), cable, single wire or other suitable tension membermay be employed. For example, in Figs. 7 and 8 I have shown a bare wirecable indicated by 13 instead of a spiral spring. In Figs. 9 and 10Ihave shown such a cable 13* coated with plastic material M. I havefound, for example, that a stranded wire having a diameter ofsubstantially as of an inch with a coating of Tenite extruded over itmay be employed. The overall diameter would be from 1% to 8 2- inch. Bythe use of this plastic material over the steel cable it is possible 'tostretch it tightly in the seam fastening both ends securely. This willgive the necessary flexibility and the Tenite can be furnished in anycolor which might be desired for the best appearance.

In Fig. 11 I have shown a similar steel cable 13 coated with plasticmaterial 14 used for decorative purposes only. As here shown, there isno crack or crevice. The sheet metal 15 is merely provided with a groove16 where the decorative marking line is desired and the plastic coatedcable is laid in this groove. In this manner, a raised decorativecolored (if desired) stripe may be placed on sheet metal in a simpleaccurate, elfective and cheap manner.

As stated above Tenite has the necessary flexibility and even after ithardens it retains sufiicient flexibility so that it is not likely to bebroken by impact of hard objects. Likewise, it

' is contemplated that the plastic material used in the spring shallpermanently retain suflicient flexibility after it hardens so that it isnot likely to be chipped or broken. Such flexibility is not necessarilyutilized to permit bending of the strip after it has been permanentlyinstalled, as, in most cases, there will be no occasion for suchbending. What is meant by flexibility, particularly as the term is hereused, is that the strip even after it has hardened shall have sufiicientplasticity, resiliency, elasticity, or softness so that it can standconsiderable abuse, as by impact with hard objects, without chipping,breaking, or cracking.

While there are shown and described certain embodiments of theinvention, it is to be understood that it is capable of manymodifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangementmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas disclosed in the appended claims, in which it is intended to claimall novelty inherent in the invention as broadly as permissible, in viewof the prior art.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a cabinet of the character described having two sheets of metalwith their adjacent edges turned inwardly and joined together leaving acrevice on the outside, a coil spring filled with cement lying over saidcrevice.

2. In a cabinet of the character described having two sheets of metalwith their adjacent edges turned inwardly and joined together leaving acrevice on the outside, a coil spring filled with flexible plasticmaterial lying over said crevice.

3. In a cabinet of the character described having two sheets of metalwith their adjacent edges turned inwardly and joined together leaving acrevice on the outside, a tension member coated with plastic materiallying over said crevice.

4. In a sheet metal construction, a groove with a tension member coatedwith plastic material lying therein.

5. A raised strip of flexible plastic material on a substantially flatsurface held in position by a tension member embedded in said plasticmaterial.

EARL E. NOFZINGER.

